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Best of Day 17

We take a look at all the drama and key incidents on day 17 of the World Cup.

Last Updated: 28/06/10 3:07pm

Every day during the World Cup, Sky Sports is taking a detailed look at all the drama and key incidents in South Africa.

Jon Holmes looks at all the main moments as England's World Cup campaign came to a sorry end while Argentina march on.

Controversy of the tournament - never mind day

Fifa chiefs hang your head in shame. There have been long-running calls for goal-line technology to be introduced to the beautiful game - but Sepp Blatter and co have constantly buried their heads in the sand and refused to contemplate it.

Germany fully deserved their 2-0 lead in Bloemfontein and could've been 4-0 up had it not been for two fantastic first-half saves from David James.

But a minute after Matty Upson's headed goal gave England hope, Frank Lampard chipped a delightful 20-yard effort over goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who saw the ball clip the underside of the crossbar and bounce a full yard over the goal-line.

Lampard celebrated, Fabio Capello punched the air in delight on the touchline - but the scoreline box in the top left-hand corner of TVs across the globe still read 2-1 to the Germans as the linesman and referee didn't award the 'goal'.

Yes it's pay-back for 1966 - but that was 44 years ago for god's sake! How on earth are we still in this position when the technology is readily available and would stall the game for a matter of seconds?

Move of the day

Pundits and fans pilloried England's defence for Miroslav Klose's opening goal for Germany - and quite rightly so as John Terry and Upson were both at fault in failing to deal with Neuer's long hopeful punt upfield. But the Germans' second goal was nothing to do with bad defending - it was just a breathtaking exhibition of flowing, skilful football which was clinically finished off when Lukas Podolski lashed a crisp left-footed strike past James.

Disappointment of the day

There were many things to be disappointed about following Germany's dismantling of England in the last-16 encounter - but the biggest one for me was yet another no-show from our 'talisman' Wayne Rooney.

The Manchester United star had the weight of the nation on his broad shoulders and completely crumpled under the pressure in this tournament. Maybe the 4-4-2 system didn't play to his strengths and we can talk all day about how he'd have done playing in a 4-5-1 with Gerrard playing off him. The fact of the matter is the world's best players should be able to shine in a number of attacking positions - wherever you play Rooney his tendency will always be to drop deep to ensure he gets the ball at his feet. Problem is if that's on the halfway line he's got to do something special to do some damage to the opposition.

Save of the day

It's highly unlikely it'd have mattered, but Manuel Neuer's one-handed save to keep out Steven Gerrard's late effort was top class.

England actually worked it nicely to get the Liverpool skipper into the box and his curling effort was decent enough but Neuer flung himself to his left to turn the ball around the post and ensure there was no grandstand finale.

Reality check of the day

If the FA hierarchy decide to stick with Capello after this miserable World Cup campaign, he must start planning for the 2014 tournament by ripping up his team sheet and starting from scratch. That means turning to our next generation of stars, and ensuring the likes of Joe Hart, Ryan Shawcross, Jack Rodwell, Jack Wilshere, Ashley Young and Adam Johnson are now regular faces in the senior squads.

Ultimately a lack of pace and mobility proved costly in South Africa - and this 'Golden Generation' needs to be put out to pasture.

What if of the day

It seems almost churlish to look back now, but what if (butter fingers) Rob Green had not lost his concentration and allowed Clint Dempsey's shot slip from his grasp in England's World Cup opener. Everything looked rosy in England's garden when Steven Gerrard capped an excellent move to score our opening (and, as it turned out, best) goal of the tournament after just three minutes in Rustenburg.

But once Green fumbled, England collectively lost their heads - and so sparked a spiral of events that meant we would only finish second in our group. OK, so the drab 0-0 draw with Algeria was also a factor. But had Green not fumbled and had England won their opener, we would more than likely have finished top of the group and with it secured an easier-looking passage through the tournament.

But let's face facts. England are not good enough to win the tournament and with a defensive performance as bad as Sunday, you could argue even Ghana would have beaten us in a last-16 clash.

Controversy of the day#2

If England felt hard done-by by Lampard's goal that never was, then Mexico can feel equally devastated by Carlos Tevez's opener against them on Sunday evening. Clearly offside when he nodded in the opener, Mexico were left both appalled and astonished as the goal was allowed to stand. And their mood will have not been helped by the fact that a replay on the big screens in the stadium showed an instant replay of the strike. Talk about rubbing guacamole into their wounds!

Silly Gripe of the Day

I like Joe Cole. He's a great player. But is there any need for footballers (and not just him) to wear giant headphones round their neck whilst conducting their after-match interviews? Is it just me, or do the headphones just smack of nonchalance? We're a nation in mourning, for goodness sake!

Goal of the Day

Argentina v Mexico turned out to be the firecracker we were all hoping for and a timely pick-me-up after the England debacle. From Higuain's dragback for Argentina's second through to Javier Hernandez's strike for Mexico, this game had quality written all over it. However, Tevez's second of the game just seven minutes into the second half was struck so hard and moved so fast that the ball had rippled into the back of the net before the Mexican goalkeeper's feet had even left the ground. Pure brilliance.